Mitch McConnell, the deal-making Senate majority leader and face of the GOP's long effort to repeal Obamacare, couldn't swing John McCain.

His arms crossed early Friday morning after an exhausting two days of fruitless votes, McConnell grimly watch his Republican colleague turn his thumb down to vote no on "skinny repeal" -- the death blow to GOP senators' most recent attempt to meet the campaign promise of ending the Affordable Care Act.

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"This is a disappointment," McConnell said simply on the floor after the vote failed, indicating it was time to "move on" to other legislation.

He also blasted Democrats, all 48 of whom voted against each repeal measure that came up over a dramatic two days in the Senate, saying he imagined they must be "celebrating."

The call to turn to other items on the GOP agenda, such the annual defense spending bill and a likely contentious battle on tax reform, is its own disappointment, said a prominent lawmaker from the neighboring chamber.

"If they're going to quit, well then, maybe by God they ought to start at the top," he said. "The leadership at the top is responsible. The buck stops there."

Even McConnell's suggestion following the end of the health care vote for the Senate to move on the defense bill later Friday was held up by an objection from Republican Sen. Rand Paul. McConnell then adjourned the Senate until Monday.

In a Senate where the margin of error is slim, given united Democratic opposition to the Republican agenda, every GOP vote is vital. McConnell's careful maneuvering, and the promise that the coolly received "skinny" bill would be reworked in House conference, didn't sway McCain or fellow GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.

McCain, who dramatically returned to the Senate on Tuesday after recently being diagnosed with brain cancer, criticized the crafting process of the GOP's repeal bills, likening it to how he said Democrats "rammed" through the ACA in 2010. Murkowski and Collins have been firmly against repeal efforts for weeks.

"We must now return to the correct way of legislating," McCain said in a statement, "and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of aisle, heed the recommendations of nation’s governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve."

Hours after the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a press conference "I hope we can work together" with GOP senators to improve the existing health care law.

"Nobody has said Obamacare is perfect," Schumer said, adding he would like to see measure to stabilize markets, offer reinsurance and help "bare counties" in danger of not having any insurers in the ACA market.

Schumer said it isn't fair to blame McConnell for the failure of repeal.

"There were deep, deep fault lines in what our Republican colleagues tried to do," he said.